Firefighters had a house fire out by 10:45 this morning in the 300 block of Lafayette Street in Hackettstown.Express-Times Photo | KATHRYN BRENZEL

An early morning fire destroyed two apartments today, displacing
two Hackettstown families.

Fire crews from across eastern Warren
County and western Morris County
responded about 10 a.m. to the apartment house fire on Lafayette
Street.

No one was reported injured. Five cats and three dogs escaped the fire.

Flames caused extensive
damage to an apartment at 314
Lafayette St., where Jennifer and David
Baker live with their three daughters, said the building's owner, Carolyn O'Rourke.
A Hackettstown building inspector determined that apartment, as well as
a smoke-damaged unit next door at 312 Lafayette St., were uninhabitable, Hackettstown police Sgt. Darren Tynan said. The apartments' occupants are staying with family members, Tynan said.

A
cause was not immediately determined, authorities said. Hackettstown detectives
and the county and town fire marshals are investigating, Tynan said.

O'Rourke said four
families live in the building's two-story units. She's owned the building for 13 years.

"Total disbelief," she said of learning about the fire. "I'm
just thankful no one was home. Thank God (the Baker) kids were out of there."

The fire was out by 10:45, Tynan said. It was initially unclear this afternoon if the Baker's
four cats had escaped the fire, but Tynan later confirmed that the family's dog and cats were safe. Two dogs and a cat living at 312 were also OK, he said. When the Bakers arrived, they declined
to talk about the incident. Dottie Donofrio, who lives at 312
Lafayette St., said she came home from work
when she heard about the fire.

Carl Clemens, who lives in one of the apartment units, was
the only person reportedly in the building at the time of the fire. Clemens
said he didn't hear any fire detectors, although each unit is equipped with
battery-powered alarms.

"A (Hackettstown Municipal Utility) guy was banging on
door, saying, 'You have to get out, the house is on fire,'" he said while standing
across the street from the apartment building. When he went outside, Clemons
saw flames coming from his neighbors' bedroom window, he said.

Superstorm Sandy
had destroyed a shed behind the apartment building, O'Rourke said. She said she'd
been relieved that the building didn't have additional damage from the storm.

The Hackettstown Police Benevolent Association No. 369 is collecting gift cards for the Baker family, displaced by this morning's fire. The family asks for gift cards to Wal-Mart, Target, ShopRite and similar stores. The family asks for no money, clothes or other donations. Gift cards can be dropped off at the Hackettstown Police Department, 215 Stiger St., Hackettstown.